Chef dealt nine months’ jail as hi-tech poker scam folds

A CHEF who turned high-tech poker cheat with an array of James Bond-style spy equipment to pocket an estimated £250,000 (€379,000) has been jailed for nine months.

Yau Yiv Lam, aged 45, and two other partners in crime, preyed on London casinos using “up-the-sleeve” cameras and hidden earpieces to chalk up wins.

As he filmed cards dealt by the croupier, footage was beamed to an accomplice in a van equipped with video and screen monitors.

London’s Southwark Crown Court was told the images were played in slow motion so the cards could be identified as they were laid face down on the table.

The information was relayed to a hidden microphone worn by a third gang member and seasoned player at the table. The game made £38,000 (€57,000) in one week alone.

“These casinos have suggested they may have experienced losses of as much as £250,000 from this scam,” said Detective Inspector Darren Warner of the Clubs and Vice Gaming Unit.

In the dock with Lam, of Edgware, north London, were Fan Leung Tsang, aged 41, of Norfolk Place, Paddington, who was in the van, and player, Bit Chai Wong, aged 39, of Northway, Swiss Cottage who were also given nine-month prison sentences but suspended for two years. In addition, they were forbidden from entering any casino or gaming club for 24 months.

In September 2005, staff at the Mint Casino became suspicious about Wong’s extraordinary luck. Out of 44 “plays”, she lost just 10 — way above odds.